John Constable painting The Lock fetches over £22 million at auction

The Lock by the English painter John Constable sells at Christie's auction for
a world record price of £22.4 million.

The price was at the lower end of estimates, but still easily trumped the previous John Constable record of £10.8 million. That figure was set in 1990 when the very same work came up for auction.

Previously belonging to Spanish aristocrat Baroness Carmen "Tita" Thyssen-Bornemisza, The Lock was completed by Constable in 1824, a key year in the artist's career during which he took the French art world by storm.

The sale of the artwork was mired in controversy in Spain, where it had become one factor in an acrimonious dispute between members of the wealthy Thyssen-Bornemisza family.

Overall the auction of Old Master and British paintings saw £85.1 million of art change hands.